Interlacing: A review of Two Shores at EXB Deptford.

Stefanos Carras

Saint Takyi, detail from First to be born, first to die, 2026. Photograph by Stefanos Carras

 Woven intimately between each other, the works of Ivan Moraes and Saint Takyi carry out a joint exploration of colour, technique, gender and spirituality. Two Shores is a beautiful study into an endlessly unfolding contrast between two artists. Rather than pushing them both apart, the disparities between their works entangle them into deeper conversation.  

Ivan Moraes depicts the women of Bahia, Brazil, in the ‘60s and ‘70s. He pays particular attention to the details of the dress of the syncretic Candomblé religion as it appears in the everyday and in moments of ritual. On the other hand, Saint Takyi creates their own universe in shades of blue. Their works read as explorations of an invented, personal mythology, contrasting with Moraes’ artistic recording of a practiced tradition. This fundamental contrast unfolds in multiple layers, making this small exhibition a unique opportunity to explore two different manifestations of the spiritual in art. 

The first contrast forms through Moraes’ brilliant use of colour, from greens to ochre-tones and gold, in comparison to Saint Takyi’s monochromatic dive into blue. The plurality of colour in the former reflects the complexity of a culture whose tradition results from the merging of Afro-diasporic religions with the Roman Catholicism of colonial powers. On the other hand, the varied blues of Saint Takyi appear as a way to define a deeply personal vision.  

Continuing on the thread of differing techniques, Moraes clearly works in a methodical and meticulous manner. Though not photorealistic, his depictions of the details of the traditional Candomblé lace carry with them the feel of the material. Even in his backgrounds, deliberate brushstrokes give a sense of a lively world. Saint Takyi’s techniques, however, carry the inner world of the painter through movement. Paint has been left to drip freely or dabbed onto the surface, and in some places, it seems to have been scraped off. Looking closely at these techniques one will discover whole worlds of untamed organic forms, that nonetheless echo the human-made repeating patterns of lace. 

Ivan Moraes, detail from Untitled (Baiana), 1972. Photograph by Stefanos Carras.

Saint Takyi, First to be born, first to die, 2026. Photograph by Stefanos Carras.

In bringing the two artists together, Two Shores showcases the different effects that can be achieved when paint is made to seem fixed versus when it retains its fluidity. This juxtaposition in technique opens up a further dialogue concerning clothing and gender. Saint Takyi’s figures reflect the fluidity of their paint by being of undefined gender and sex, despite being completely bare. They are beings that are by their nature fluid in these otherwise fixed social categories. Moraes’ women all wear traditional dress that clearly identifies them as women. By painting their dress in planes of solid colour their clothing is highlighted as the central aspect of his paintings. But, without clothes, Saint Takyi’s figures are stripped of the social constraints of gender.  

Saint Takyi, detail from The agrarian kills the nomad, 2026. Photograph by Stefanos Carras. 

 In this way, the exhibition subtly explores the gender-politics of traditional and conventional clothing. It reminds us that, despite existing in part to hide one’s genitalia, conventional clothing immediately reveals it to the world by complying with the standards of what one ought to wear depending on their biological sex and its associated gender. Perhaps the human figures in Saint Takyi’s paintings are ambiguous partly because they do not exist in a world that includes traditional gender-based garments. 

        Ivan Moraes, Untitled (Candomblé Ritual), 1960. Photograph by Stefanos Carras. 

  Furthermore, through Moraes’ depictions based on the real world and Saint Takyi’s undefined dreamscapes we can uncover different modes of spirituality. Moraes portrays organised faith, such as in Untitled (Candomblé Ritual) where he sensitively represents an instance of earnest religious devotion. But organised faith is culturally, historically and geographically situated. Another painting shows a woman in Candomblé dress standing in front of Portuguese-style tile patterns, reminding us of the colonial history of Brazil. The same history that gave rise to the syncretic faith that this woman’s clothes represent.  

         Ivan Moraes, detail from Untitled (Baina), 1964. Photograph by Stefanos Carras. 

On the other hand, Saint Takyi’s paintings explore spiritually potent ideas such as birth, death and identity, in a personal, non-situated manner. The spirituality of their art is, at least superficially, detached from geographical and historical notions of faith. In fact, given their unpolished nature, the physicality of the techniques used, and the allegiance to blue, Saint Takyi’s art could itself be considered a form of spiritual practice and self-exploration. This compares interestingly with Moraes’ paintings which, despite depicting faith and religion, do not appear themselves to be a spiritual practice. 

The success of Two Shores rests on the unpretentious hanging of the two artists’ works: thirteen paintings are placed on just two walls, mixed and close together. This allows the eye to pass seamlessly between two very noticeably distinct styles. An external and an internal world collide as Moraes’ records intricate histories, and Saint Takyi constructs personal mythologies.